I am also filing for early citizenship, 5 year completes in Dec 2026 and part of my plan is to file case if they don’t approve citizenship on the grounds that new law needs 10 years from date of 1st card.
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What sort of timeframe have people been given regarding the acceptance/rejection of an early citizenship application? Am I right in thinking that one won’t hear back from IRN for many months if not longer?
With a lawsuit waiting in the wings if the application is rejected, this conceivably adds years to this process does it not?
This is one concern that I have not been able to address or even articulate properly. Any input is appreciated.
It took me four months last year to get the tracking number and to see my status as submitted, although my application was made online via a lawyer. So i guess initial control of the documents has taken place during that period.
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IRN has a mature database which is the tracking system of record. It is the system that assigns the process numbers.
The online lawyer portal is a new, separate front-end system. While I don’t have any direct knowledge of internal IRN processes, empirical evidence suggests that IRN manually copies the data from the online portal system to the main database on a best-effort timeline. Various observers claim that it takes anywhere from days to months for the IRN process number to be generated and propagated back into the online submission portal.
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It’s not a matter of day, but a matter of months. 3-4 months is a reasonable time estimate. In the online lawyer portal, it shows the submission date and submission status, so the lawyer can confirm the application was filed on xx.xx.xxxx date. However, the official process number is not assigned until IRN retrieves the record and downloads it to the IRN main database - generally about 3-4 months after online filing.
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And during the time, can lawyers update things like police records if the apostille isn’t ready yet at time of submission?
No, I don’t think so. It goes into file lock. As I understand, once the IRN reviews and makes comments or faltas then the lawyer can update new documents or make corrections. I assume this would happen anywhere between 3 and 12 months after submission but that’s just a guess.
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I’ve also understood that nothing new can be uploaded to the citizenship application once the application has been submitted. But ive also been told if it is rejected, you cannot apply again for 2 years or until something in your application is significantly different or ‘conditions’ have changed… the imminent change in the law regarding citizenship applications can probably be argued as a sufficient ‘change of condition’ to enable an earlier resubmission of the application than only after 2 years, but if the rejection comes after the new law has come in you are more likely to be pushed in to the 10 years of residency before citizenship application allowed and less likely to be able to argue to be judged under the existing 5 year rules.Taking them to court might take a further 2-3 years so assuming you won your case you might still have citizenship awarded sooner than the 10 year rule… but lots of risky ‘ifs’ along the route that are consequential in both time and extra costs - legal fees especially!! The date of your GV application and no of years to permanent residency application (as opposed to citizenship) remains 5 years rather than moving to 10, BUT is likely affected by their reverting to the 5 years counting only from receipt of card - especially if your gv application started in late 2024 /25 so came under the 'new speedier(!!) processing) rather than the super delayed 2022/23 GV applicants who may still be given leniency case by case as the 5yrs frim application was introduced in recognition if extreme delay kn system. Gv and citizenship rules are separate and come under separate law although many of us investing in the GV in the last 5 years did so with the main aim of applying for citizenship at the end of the 5 yr gv residency… hence i think why we connect the two (GV and chance to apply for citizenship) as one purpose and system where in portuguese system and law, they are two separate things…
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I need some advice. I first applied way back in April 2021 and got my residency card in October 2024. As the law stands now, I should be able to apply in April 2026 for citizenship. Obviously nobody expects the law to remain unchanged, but there’s still a chance it survives or there’s a grandfather clause added.
I’m also in the position where I can’t have my money locked down until 2036. It’s tricky though, because obviously there are going to be court cases if the law is changed and anyone who drops out of the process isn’t going to be able to benefit if those cases go against the government.
I think my plan is to apply for citizenship in April (if possible) and if not wait to renew my residency in October and see how the court cases are playing out, with an eye toward withdrawing my money if it seems hopeless. I have the following questions:
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The lawyer I retained at the start of this process wasn’t great, but did manage to get me through the process. They tend to be a little unresponsive. Given how uncertain the process has become, should I look for another one?
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What do I need to be doing now to be able to file in April? Is it just another FBI background check?
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What is the cost for renewing my residency in October?
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If I end up withdrawing my money after renewing my residency, I assume my residency card will remain valid for the duration? I just won’t be able to renew it after that?
Thanks for your advice on this. I realize it’s been a long, painful road for all of us, and most of us are feeling horribly betrayed by the Portuguese government, especially those of us so close to the finish line.
That means regardless of citizenship you should be able to apply for PR in Oct 2029 and sell your investment once it’s granted.
If you switch lawyer you will probably need to send them a new Power of Attorney. In addition to that they’ll need your A2 Portuguese certificate, your birth certificate (with apostille) and criminal clearance from all countries of nationality, country of birth, and any country you lived longer than 1 year after age 16, all with apostille. And of course a copy of your residence card and all pages of passport.
I am also preparing to apply in April so feel free to PM me any questions.
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I will also hopefully be able to apply at the end of march, provided that the law doesn’t change by then. I have the same list of documents from my lawyer however the only difference is “lived more than 3 months” instead of 1 year. For me it makes a huge difference because I happened to live in a non-apostille and non-Portuguese mission country for 9 months back in the day. So if you have any legal ground to support “above 1 year” rule, would you mind sharing that? It would be very helpful. Thanks.
Sorry apparently the 1 year rule is more for applying for visas. It seems for citizenship it’s just countries you were “resident” after 16 which is fuzzier, it excludes tourism but there is no explicit cutoff time.
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At least according to my lawyer there isn’t a legally defined cutoff, though the authorities seem to try to enforce a 3-month limit that’s apparently not backed up by any law. EDIT: I’ve also seen 6 months listed on some embassy websites.
I’d rely on your lawyer’s advice of whether or not you should choose to list that 9-month stay on your application. They may be more helpful if you don’t ask their advice in writing…
Yeah my understanding is that IRN will presume you have been resident in your country of birth and all countries of citizenship, unless you can prove otherwise (e.g. if you can prove you left your birth country before age 16). It’s often easier to just get the certificates than to prove otherwise.
But apart from that it’s basically on you to attach police checks for countries you’ve been resident. I would guess it’s only fraud if you omit a police check for a country where you actually committed a crime? Omitting an empty police check seems more a paperwork error than fraud. On the citizenship form, you’re basically declaring you haven’t committed a crime:
nunca foi condenado, com trânsito em julgado da sentença, em pena de
prisão igual ou superior a três anos, por crime punível segundo a lei portuguesa
But I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice.
Hi friends, I’ve been following the posts regarding the law changes, it seems to me that nothing has been passed, is that right? And I wonder where can I monitor the updates more directly?
Thanks
Not really pertinent to the thread, but posting here as I’m curious whether this attached is a subtle way of influencing the nationality debate.
A front page article is saying that GV funds have caused a 30% runup in 2025 of the PSI index (kinda the PT DOW index). No mention is made of the potential changes to the nationality laws, but it doesn’t take much to connect the dots. A passive-aggressive way of telling the political parties – touch this third-rail at your risk.
Anyway, just spitballing while we wait for the wheels to grind along.
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Parabens ao novo presidente da República de Portugal, António José Seguro!
Good news for us, as I would bet he will veto a nationality law without grandfathering
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Hopefully the AD’s right wing are reading the room with headlines like “landslide” and “maior votação de sempre.”
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@garrett I really hope you’re right! 
But PSD+Chega+IL passed the previous version (without grandfathering) with enough votes to override a veto (2/3) anyway, didn’t they? A veto would be symbolic but might only buy a few days delay.